As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional locking and latching mechanism for vehicle doors has an opening lever which can be moved vertically by a door handle (not shown). The door handle is connected to opening lever A by an opening rod B. The locking mechanism further has an interlocking lever (not shown) engaged to release or lock a ratchet (not shown) which can be engaged to a strike plate mounted to the vehicle body. The locking mechanism further has a locking lever C rotatably mounted on an output shaft D on a base plate E. A sill knob rod J having a sill knob (not shown) at its upper end is connected at its lower end to a first arm of the locking lever C. The opening lever A is rotatably engaged to a second arm of locking lever C.
When the locking lever C is turned by either actuating sill knob rod J or key rod F, the locking lever C is switched from an unlocked position in which a projection G on the opening lever A is moved to be opposite a pin H on the interlocking member, or to a locked position in which projection G of the opening lever A is moved to be spaced apart from pin H of the interlocking member. Thus, when the locking lever C is in the unlocked position, actuating the door handle will cause projection G to engage pin H and move the pin H to thereby disengage the ratchet from the strike plate and permit the door to be opened. When, however, the locking lever is in the locked position, actuating the door handle will not engage spaced apart projection G and pin H, thereby leaving the ratchet engaged and the door closed, in "locked" position.
In earlier prior art locking and latching of this general type, thieves were able to grip sill knob rod J with a gripping tool forced through the gap between the lower edge of a closed window above the locking mechanism and the adjacent edge of the corresponding vehicle door panel, and were thus able to move the rod J and thereby move locking lever C from a locked to an unlocked position. In order to deter such activity prior art locking devices have been provided as shown in FIG. 1 with an anti-theft tube I which surrounds the upper portion of sill knob rod J so as to make access to the rod more difficult, i.e. the anti-theft tube I inhibits and often prevents grasping of the rod J by the gripping tool used by car thieves.
As shown in FIG. 1, bend points are provided on sill knob rod J to align the sill knob rod within the anti-theft tube I and deter it from rattling within the tube. A washer L is further provided to maintain the lower portion of sill knob rod J coaxially aligned within the tube I. In addition, stops M are provided to inhibit relative axial movement of the tube I on the sill knob rod J.
While the prior art anti-theft tube has been a proven deterrent to theft, it has a number of disadvantages, most important of which is the fact that thieves have continued to use the gap between the closed window and door to insert tools able to grip the portion of the sill knob rod J exposed below the anti-theft tube I to unlock the locking lever. In addition, notwithstanding the use of the bends in the sill knob rod J and the alignment washer L with stops M, relative movement of the anti-theft tube I on the rod J still occurs causing rattling which greatly irritates vehicle passengers. Further, under certain circumstances the tube I can become caught against the interior of the vehicle door panel, resulting in friction between the sill knob rod J and the tube I when the sill knob is actuated; this in turn makes it difficult to unlock the door using the sill knob, which is annoying and disconcerting to the user.